This disclosure relates generally to firearms, and, more particularly, to a recoil pad device for use with a firearm.
Firearms release significant recoil forces upon firing. These forces accelerate the weapon opposite the firing direction, (i.e. toward the body of the shooter). If the firearm is spaced from the shooter when the acceleration occurs, the rearward acceleration can cause the weapon to strike the body of the shooter, which may cause significant pain. To prevent this pain, the shooter presses the weapon against his body when aiming; specifically the user presses the weapon against the shoulder.
In order to decrease the recoil forces released against the body of the shooter, it has been proposed that the weapon housing be provided with a recoil pad device. The recoil pad device is situated between the body of the shooter and the weapon housing when the weapon is aimed. The recoil pad device absorbs a portion of the recoil energy released when a shot is fired.
For example, a recoil pad device is described in German patent publication DE-T2 694 04 0180. That recoil device is created in the form of a pocket that is affixed to the shoulder piece of a rifle. The pocket consists of a material that is only slightly flexible or even rigid, (e.g. the material may be made of cloth filled with viscoelastic rubber).
Another recoil pad device is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,671. That recoil pad device is fastened to a rifle. The recoil pad device includes an elastic exterior casing that has a square cross-section. The exterior casing is filled with a shock absorbing material.
FIG. 10 of French patent FR 2,167,317 shows a recoil pad for a rifle stock that has a rubber cap that creates pliability in the blank spaces in the shooting direction upon firing the weapon. The associated resting surface on the shoulder of the shooter, (i.e., the working surface), barely increases when the weapon is fired.
The same point applies to U.S. Pat. No. 2,438,142 in which the recoil pad is created by an air pillow. The air pillow is enclosed by a stiff casing that sharply restricts the increase in the working surface when a shot is fired.